The USA started exporting and importing goods with other countries. So, to keep up with demand, we had to produce more, which led to factories and labor unions. Also, the Railway Act that President Lincoln signed helped spur the Industrial Revolution
Both of these inventions provided new job opportunities and promoted industrial growth. Unskilled workers or immigrants would lay the tracks and maintain the rail lines while factory workers manufactured the locomotives and rails. This need attracted fourteen million immigrants into the country and encouraged continued growth. Most of the industrialization took place in the Northeast region as the textile plants grew because they had an abundant water supply that could be used to power the textile mills (Library of Congress 2013). The sewing machine was used in factories and provided many jobs.
This caused industries like steel, glass and rubber to boom creating more and more jobs. Plastics like Bakelite were developed and used in household products. Electricity was present in many American homes and led to the development in more electrical products. I believe that the technological change contributed to the economic boom because many people were excited by the prospect of products that were not manual and meant that their lives were made
Both economics and politics experienced radical changes during the Early Republic period in America. Remarkably subtle but undoubtedly significant was the development of a recognizable middle class during the Early Republic. This revolution can be attributed to what Wood refers to as a “consumer revolution of immense importance” and through the pervasive spread of commerce. A newfound appreciation for domestically internal trade and the recognition of the significance of this internal trade increased prosperity and gave more people enthusiasm for business. The quantity of those involved in buying and selling increased exponentially and in response, the development of modern day concepts such as businessmen and entrepreneurs arose.
This can be demonstrated through the examination of urbanization, the rise of new classes, theories (by Smith, Malthus and Ricardo), and factory conditions. The industrial revolution began with tinkers introducing new inventions that were going to dramatically improve the way people produced goods. These new machines (such as the water frames, cotton gins, power looks, and the spinning jenny) enabled different industries (like the Textile industry to produce products in mass quantities. In consequence, these new methods of production made other approaches such as the cottage industry obsolete. These new techniques may have allowed for ample production of goods and prices of goods to drop, ultimately increasing consumerism; inevitably though, it had a destructive effect on the old-fashioned methods of production.
Although the making of new transportation was dangerous and killed many workers, the ways the developments in transportation brought economic and social changes in the United States in the period 1820 to 1860 was because of the new railroads, the new types of transportation, and the way it helped make more income. The first reason why the developments in transportation brought social changes was because of the railroads. With new railroads people were now able to move all around the United States. Now that people were settling in new places it allowed the growth of cities. With all these growing cites, it really changed the way people lived.
It also had a stable government, which allowed for the people to begin industrializing in the first place, harbors for trade, a very large population resulting in a very large workforce, and many water ways throughout the country to transport materials and products as well as to use for water power at mills. There are several reasons why the Industrial revolution started in the first place. One reason being that there was widespread resistance to disease in Europe as well as a reliable food supply, allowing for steady population growth, which in return created more demand for products, which in turn resulted in new ways of producing products more efficiently in response to demand. As a result of Industrialization, a new economic philosophy arose. Capitalism called for the lack of government intervention in the economy.
It made it more apparent that heavy industries, factories and coal mining were becoming more and more important. As stated above the railroads made the trade of goods, coal and steel easier which lead to the growth of steel production as well as the growth of large corporations in the oil, sugar and meat industries. With the arrival of new machine driven factories, the need for skilled workers was dramatically reduce, creating more opportunities for unskilled workers. These laborors were hired to clear lands, build and repair tracks and build the trains needed to supply the new demands. With the promise of learning a trade and becoming more wealthy a new class of people was appearing in the cities, the middle class.
The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, which lasted from the 18th through the 19th century, had its positive and negative effects on the world. The many undesirable effects proved to be the reason for the positive results. Many great quantities of advancements and inventions were created during this period of time, which enabled the people to prosper into our current social structure. The Industrial Revolution led to many progressive advancements and inventions. These machines that were invented helped to make work more efficient.
The technological advancements led to the emergence of factories and an exploding population surrounding them. Many advantages were gained during the Industrial Revolution, but it also had profound consequences on society. Two major social consequences included urbanization and child labor. During the Industrial Revolution there was an immense demand for cheap, unskilled labor. Families moved from rural areas to the newly industrialized cities to find work.